All three designers are fans of using tile all the way up to the ceiling.

“It makes the entire room more cohesive, and it can also give the illusion that a space is larger than it actually is,” Flynn said.

Beyond ceramics

Flynn loves using tiles made of “unexpected materials, such as leather, cork and wood. Leather tiles can be used on walls and ceilings, but in lower-traffic areas. Cork is a dream because it helps soundproof a space, plus it offers a really warm, organic texture instead of the sleek ceramic surfaces we’re used to seeing.”

Alternating sizes, colors or depths

Quinn said clients love the effect when he alternates large and small tiles in various patterns.

Simple changes like using “two different size subway tiles — 2-by-4 and 3-by-6 — alternating stripes of one and then the other,” can make a bathroom more stylish and interesting, without becoming outdated quickly.

The question of glass

Glass tile has become popular. Because it’s translucent, Mathison sometimes uses it in smaller bathrooms.

But glass tile can be expensive, Flynn said, and it’s gotten trendy. One fresh option is “using extra-large, extra-wide, back-painted glass panels on walls,” rather than small glass tiles, “to bring contemporary architectural interest into a space.”